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ORLANDO, Florida, February 14. GERMANY’s Yannick Lebherz survived a hard charge by Wisconsin’s Michael Weiss in the men’s 200-meter freestyle to claim a 1:50.27 to 1:50.31 touchout triumph at the Arena Grand Prix in Orlando. Lebherz, who took 15th in the 200 back at the 2012 London Olympics, is ramping up his event list as he continues to become one of the top swimmers out of his nation.

Weiss, meanwhile, is a World University Games gold medalist and is making a push for the Pan Pacs after a strong NCAA career. Dion Dreesens of The Netherlands raced his way to third overall in 1:50.77, while Canada’s Ryan Cochrane took home fourth in 1:50.98 as the rest of the sub-1:51 swims.

Tucson Ford’s Darian Townsend pocketed fifth in 1:561.55, while Colombia’s Matteo De Angulo placed sixth in 1:52.99. The Woodlands’ Michael McBroom (1:53.02) and Canada’s Alex Page (1:53.05) closed out the championship heat. Meanwhile, Daniele Tirabassi closed out the competition in the B final with a 1:52.18 for the consolation win.

Author: Jason Marsteller

Jason Marsteller is the general manager of digital properties at Swimming World. He joined Swimming World in June 2006 as the managing editor after previous stints as a media relations professional at Indiana University, the University of Tennessee, Southern Utah University and the Utah Summer Games.